what’s this?
I first heard about Charlie and the whatmusic boys when we were thinking of planning a jazz compilation CD for our Milk & Honey members. We wanted to put together a new and unusual collection of jazz that was nothing like those compilations you get in motorway service stations
with names like ‘Jazz Moods’ or ‘Jazz Splash’… and then I discovered the whatmusic back catalogue.

I listened to everything they had, from ‘Poptical’ to ‘International Hot’ and ‘Raulzinho’ to‘Ritmo Fantastico’; music that brought the sunshine inside. But the wild and diverse mix of music we loved wasn’t right for the pre-Coltrane jazz era sound of Milk & Honey. We had to find another way of getting it out there. If I was ‘in advertising’ or ‘in movies’, I could plug tracks for car commercials
or squeeze songs onto the soundtrack of The Next Tarantino. But then we realised we already had
the perfect home for everything and we decided to put our odd collection of favourites onto a Trailer Happiness CD as the First Ever whatmusic compilation.

So that’s what we’ve done. There’s a huge variety here, which is odd for a compilation CD – where
each homogenous track tends to merge into the next. Instead, we’ve bumped bebop against afro-bossa,
sat samba jazz next to Finnish funk and put it all together with some Brazilian soul and scat vocals.
Trailer Happiness was conceived as the kind of place where a whole, mad mix of stuff would be played and displayed and that’s what this CD is about. You might skip the odd track but I challenge you not to love at least three of them; and if that’s all we achieve with this, then we've helped spread a bit more Trailer Happiness.

Jonathan Downey
August 2004, London

Tracks

01 DANILO CAYMMI – CODAJAS
From the album: Cheiro Verde (WMLP-0054 / WMCD-0054)
Licensed from: Ana Terra (1977)
The album opens with ‘Codajas’ a ‘coming home’ track from the album ‘Cheiro Verde’.
This was a historic record in 1977, marking the emergence of MPB-A, or Musica Popular Brasileira Alternativa. The great Indie labels of the 50s were defunct, and beyond the obvious military dictatorship was a less obvious musical dictatorship of the multinational labels imposing foreign music and stifling Brazilian talent. This husband & wife production featured top musicians of the time such as Milton Nascimento and Airto Moreira, and heralded the rebirth of the independent voice of Brazilian music.

02 MEIRELLES E OS COPA 7 – TROPICAL
From the album: Tropical (WMLP-0013 / WMCD-0013)
Licensed from: EMI (1969)
The second track, ‘Tropical’, is a ‘new beginnings’ track from the 1969 album of the same name. This album was a landmark in the transition from the cool laid back swing of the bossa nova to the tighter, faster syncopation of samba jazz. The much-documented birthplace of
this transition was the Beco das Garrafas, a tiny alley of even tinier bars in Copacabana.
The album ‘Tropical’ is one of the rarest Brazilian LPs of all time, a tough new take on American Jazz with a Brazilian twist!

03 OPEN SKY UNIT – SUNSHINE STAR
From the album: Open Sky Unit (WMLP-0002 / WMCD-0002)
Licensed from: Duchesne Records (1974)
The third track brings us back to an urban feel. This storming 1974 track is inspiring, uplifting and full of hope. A rich mix of fusion, soul, funk and bossa nova delivered with the raw energy of the live performance. Composer Ron Wilson’s semi-falsetto vocals and keyboard brilliance on the fender Rhodes offset the legendary alto sax work of Jacques Pelzer and
his daughter Micheline on the drums. Ron Wilson lost interest in singing after this album,
but through his truly original offering on this record he gained musical immortality.

04 EMILIO SANTIAGO – BROTHER
From the album: Emilio Santiago (WMLP-0084 / WMCD-0084)
Licensed from: CID (1975)
‘Brother’ is a classic Jorge Ben song, here covered by Emilio Santiago in his eponymous
and stunning 1975 debut album that includes Donato’s funky ‘Bananeira’, (recently covered
by Bebel Gilberto). With its unmatched line up of great musicians and fantastic songs,
this is quite simply one of the best and funkiest albums to come out of Brazil in the 1970s!

05 RAULZINHO / IMPACTO 8 – TWO BEAT MANCHILD
From the album: International Hot (WMLP-0039 / WMCD-0039)
Licensed from: Equipe (1968)
International Hot’s ‘Two Beat Manchild’ brings us to the heat of the day. Energetic and passionate, the whole album is a legendary psychedelic bossa funk workout from trombonist Raul de Souza and friends including Oberdan from Banda Black Rio, Helio Celso and Robertinho da Silva, who has played the drums for Milton Nascimento, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Gilberto Gil amongst others.

06 MIGUEL ANGEL – ISTO E SAMBA
From the album: Samba Na Onda (WMLP-0076 / WMCD-0076)
Licensed from: Equipe (1964)
The sixth track, Isto e Samba, (“this is Samba”), is the oldest track on this album and the least jazz influenced, but heavy on drama and rhythm and full of life. The track is from ‘Samba Na Onda’, the 1964 album from 4 members of the cult group Os Ipanemas which continues their heavily percussive and vocal-led sound with way out harmonies and afro-bossa grooves.

08 COPA 7 – FOFOQUEIRA
From the album: O Som Do Copa 7 Vol 1 (WMLP-0009 / WMCD-0009)
Licensed from: Rozemblit/Top Tape (1979)
‘Fofoqueira’ (“the gossip”) has a super feel of summer, good humour and optimism in spite of the tale of woe in the lyrics. The album ‘O Som do Copa 7 vol 1’ expresses the street vibe of 70s Black Rio funk balls fusing samba with EWF, Reality & Horace Andy. Tougher and more streetwise than Banda Black Rio, the Copa 7 named themselves after the Meirelles group (see ‘Tropical’ above). The album is full of mature and tough samba based funk tracks with impeccable hooks, scat vocals and killer horn breaks!

09 EERO KOIVISTOINEN – 7 UP
From the album: Wahoo! (LP 8573-83580-1 / CD 8573-83580-2)
Licensed from: Warner Finland (1973)
Koivistoinen’s 7 Up echoes the vibe of ‘Bullitt’ or ‘The Streets of San Francisco’. Only 600 copies were pressed of the original 1973 album ‘Wahoo!’. This killer cult funky jazz album featuring Sabu Martinez and Olli Ahvenlahti is a must have. ‘Now Toronto’ magazine wrote
of the album: “There’s left-field jazz and then there are completely off-the-map wonders
like Finnish saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen’s funk bomb… Waaaaaaahoooooooo!”

10 JACQUES & MICHELINE PELZER QUARTET – NAIMA
From the album: Song For Rene (WMLP-0040 / WMCD-0040)
Licensed from: Duchesne Records (1975)
This song is a 1975 live cover by legendary Belgium alto saxophonist Jacques Pelzer and
his quartet. John Coltrane’s beautiful dedication to his wife, usually encountered as a ballad,
is here given an adventurous backbeat-driven platform by Micheline Pelzer, her father Jacques on soprano saxophone contributes a touching statement which is followed by an appropriately crystalline one from Michel Graillier (who was to become Micheline’s husband). Jacques Pelzer was at the forefront of Belgian jazz for some fifty years including 3 tours with Chet Baker, who also toured with Micheline.

11 GRAHAM COLLIER SEPTET – CRUMBLIN’ COOKIE
From the album: Deep Dark Blue Centre (WMLP-0017 / WMCD-0017)
Licensed from: Graham Collier (1967)
Somebody once asked Hoagy Carmichael what he thought about the new things that were going on. Hoagy’s reply was that he didn’t mind what they did with Jazz so long as they kept the deep dark blue centre. Graham Collier made that phrase the title of his 1967 debut album which mixes progressive modality with a ‘blue’ timeless jazz essence. Collier always wanted jazz musicians to experiment and explore, but he also wanted the music to keep its identity, its indigo flavour. Nearly 40 years on, Collier is still producing critically acclaimed music.
see his website www.jazzcontinuum.com.

12 CHIVO BORRARO – LA INVASION DE LOS MONJES
From the album: Blues Para Un Cosmonauta (WMLP-0028 / WMCD-0028)
Licensed from: Chivo Borraro (1973)
The track means ‘The Invasion of the Monks’ and is from the standout album
‘Blues para un Cosmonauta’ by Chivo Borraro, one of the founding fathers of modern
and contemporary jazz in Argentina. The other musicians in this band: Fernando Gelbard, Chino Rossi and Brazilian guest Stenio Mendes were all in their 30s at the time of this album, about 20 years younger than Chivo. They were among the finest and most innovative musicians in Argentina.

Whatmusic
Whatmusic started with the dream of bringing great but undiscovered music to a wider audience. Beginning with two core genres of jazz and Brazilian music from the 60s and 70s, the company
has released 75 albums on its own label – reissues of some of the rarest albums, originals of which
in many cases sell for several hundred dollars. The company also, inspired by Jonathan Downey,
got into the business of making compilations for others, using our expertise, production values
and deep knowledge of music. This album however is the first compilation we have done of our
own catalogue.

Whatmusic’s theme throughout has always been to bring the customer the highest quality of music and packaging possible. This is partly out of respect for the original artists and partly out of respect for the consumer. In this age of ‘free’ music there is a tendency to assume that if something costs nothing it’s worth nothing, but true value comes from respect. We hope that the care we take in searching out the best music and presenting it will give the buyer pause, and the feeling that they own something of value.

This is no less true of our compilations. Now that anyone can download their favourite songs
as single tracks, there is little need to buy poor quality compilations just for a few familiar tracks. Finding new music is an adventure, but life is too busy to spare that time and a great compilation
is one that gives you the adventure of finding great music without the time and effort of finding
it yourself. Our compilations are 100% great songs, chosen by ‘muso’s’ who love and live music
and can dig up unknown treasures that are nevertheless accessible to anyone. Even if they’re not your style, they will at least be fresh and new. We hope you like this one.

Trailer Happiness
Trailer Happiness is the newest of a small group of great bars in London and New York
owned by Jonathan Downey, including the Match bars, Sosho, Milk & Honey, and The Player.
Trailer Happiness is a paean to Tiki culture, which first found its feet in mid-50s America growing into a phenomenon that lasted well into the late 60s and early 70s. Tiki probably reached its peak
around 1965, thanks largely to the success of ‘South Pacific’ (1958), Hawaii joining the Union (1959) and the stream of Elvis movies beginning with Blue Hawaii (1961). Tiki drinks and dining injected
new optimism into a post-war, cold-war society eager to embrace the bright new future of a space age world of Rock and Doris.

But it’s not just good cocktails and good food that make this bar; the music is a fascinating mix
of songs from our DJs’ own collections, favourite tracks they don't usually get to play elsewhere.
Like whatmusic, at Trailer Happiness we like to introduce our guests to new music they may love
but would never otherwise come across. The musical adventure is achieved not by keeping to rigid playlists, but by bringing in specialists and then setting them free.

With the e-z-boy feel of a low rent, mid-60s California valley bachelor pad, Trailer Happiness is a retro-sexual haven of cosmopolitan kitsch and faded trailer park glamour – cork tiles and shag pile, love songs and vol-au-vents, Lynch prints and Tiki drinks. It’s a truly original experience served by some of the best bartenders in the business.

Dedication
This album is dedicated to the memory of James Bryant, founder of whatmusic and the man behind the design of the brand and the design of the business. He died aged 31, of a heart attack in his sleep on 6th July 2003. He will always be remembered with great fondness by his wife Tippy,
his brother Will, his parents John and Sue and by his many friends.

The second song on this album, ‘Tropical’, was his favourite from the great whatmusic catalogue
and reflects his gentle lightness and care-full understanding of people. His great upbeat even when things were at their hardest was to remind us “we’re here to have fun, that’s our overriding goal
in everything – if we’re not having fun, we’re doing something wrong!” It’s impossible to remember him or the things he did and said without breaking into a huge smile.

He was someone who knew when to use fewer words rather than more and how to take the unnecessary drama out of a situation. Here’s hoping we can not only remember but emulate
him by eschewing artificial drama and by ensuring that whatever we do, whether work, rest or play,
we have fun doing it. Isn’t that after all what makes life worthwhile?